Bright blue tents marked the spot on the grounds of Noland Co. for the fourth annual ASID Designer White Elephant Auction and Sale on June 20 and 21.

The event on Staples Mill Road in Henrico County benefited Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity and the ASID Student Education Fund.

Members of ASID -- the American Society of Interior Designers -- include designers, industry representatives, educators and students. One of the group's missions is to demonstrate the power of design in people's lives.

To achieve this goal and to give back to the community, ASID chose Richmond Habitat as a beneficiary. Richmond Habitat creates communities by building simple, decent homes that low-income partner families can afford to buy through zero-interest mortgages that the nonprofit organization provides.

The ASID Student Education Fund supports college chapters at James Madison University, Radford University, Tidewater Community College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech and Rhodec International.

What began several years ago as a Saturday morning sale is now an upscale, Friday evening silent auction that rolls over to a casual tent sale the following morning.

Auction bidders can choose from design consultations, lamps, furniture, fencing lessons and gift certificates as well as fine art and hand-crafted jewelry by local artists.

Lisa Bedell of Richmond Habitat said, "As the popularity of this fundraiser grows from one year to the next, we plan to add a live auction, too. There's definitely the community support in Richmond to enable this." The auction raised $4,200.

Saturday morning's sale was a treasure hunter's delight. Pleasant weather brought out shoppers who strolled from tent to tent scrutinizing tables, chairs, rugs, fabric remnants, china, glassware, decor accessories and designer samples. The sale brought in more than $3,000.

In keeping with ASID's "thinking green" philosophy, remainders from the sale were recycled -- donated to the Habitat ReStore, 1901 Roane St. The retail outlet sells quality used and surplus building materials and accessories to the public at a fraction of normal prices.

"These events provide the public an opportunity to meet our designers in person," said ASID committee member Carolyn Lawrence. "With the popularity of so many TV design shows, we receive many calls to our chapter office asking about designers.

"Our annual White Elephant event is a way to educate the public about our services while we are supporting Richmond Habitat and the community."

Information about these two organizations can be found at www.asidva.org and www.richmondhabitat.org.
Marsha Polier Grossman is a Chesterfield County freelance photographer. She can be contacted at tuda2@comcast.net.